INVESTIGATING DUAL DANGER IN MINES

Chronicle (Levin), 28 April 1947, Page 2

INVESTIGATING DUAL DANGER IN MINES

-Press Association

By Telegraph-

WELLINGTON, April 24. An invitation has been issued by the New Zealand Government to Professor T. David Jones, professor of mining iL the University of South Wales, Cardilf, to visit the Dominion and discuss with •the Mines Department the explosive properties of coal dust. Professor Jones, who is a world authority on dust iu mines, is now visiting Australia, and it is hoped that he will be able to come to New Zealand duting the next two or three months. The Under-Secretary of Mines, Mr. C. H. Benney, said today that explosions of coal dust were fortunately not eom mon in New Zealand mines, where. pre-ventiv-e measurees were taken. They 'were still possible, however, and the Dominion Physical Laboratory was working 011 measures to reduce the danger still fui'ther. During his stay in New Zealand Professor Jones would visit a number of mines. The pending visit to New Zealand of Mr. S. R. M. Ellis, a graduate of Auckland University College, who had been employed by the Low Temperature Garbonisation Oonipany in England, also was mentioned by Mr. Benney. Mr. Ellis would give information to the coal survey division of the Dominion Physical Laboratory 011 overseas methods of processing coal. Mr. Benney said that New Zealand 's need was to process the large reserve of non-bituminous coal so that it "could be used to conserve the much smaller reserves of bituminous coal. The Dominion was greatly interested in briquetting. No reasouably economic process for the low-tempera ture carbonisation of coal had yet been ' evolved.